Parental Education and Child Health—Understanding the Pathways of Impact in Pakistan

Monazza Aslam () and Geeta Kingdon

World Development, 2012, vol. 40, issue 10, 2014-2032

Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between parental schooling on the one hand, and child health outcomes (height and weight) and parental health-seeking behavior (immunization status of children), on the other. Using unique data from Pakistan, we aim to understand the mechanisms through which parental schooling promotes better child health and health-seeking behavior. The following “pathways” are investigated: educated parents’ greater household income, exposure to media, literacy, labor market participation, health knowledge, and the extent of maternal empowerment within the home. We find that while father’s education is positively associated with the immunization decision, mother’s education is more critically associated with longer term health outcomes in OLS equations. Instrumental Variable (IV) estimates suggest that father’s health knowledge is most positively associated with immunization decisions while mother’s health knowledge and her empowerment within the home are the channels through which her education impacts her child’s height and weight respectively.

Keywords: parental schooling; mother’s health knowledge; father’s health knowledge; media exposure; maternal empowerment; child health; Pakistan; South Asia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (38)

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Working Paper: Parental Education and Child Health - Understanding the Pathways of Impact in Pakistan (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:40:y:2012:i:10:p:2014-2032

DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2012.05.007

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